Scissors
by EndingFury
Summary: It all started with a pair of scissors. The mistake has now been made, and the repercussions are grave. Can the endless tide of destruction be stopped now that it has already been started? Zoethian, Nanosounds, InTheLittleDream, Xephmadia, Sjinty. Collab with Featherflower.
1. Chapter 1

**Well I guess I'm alone again.**

**~YOGSCAST Rythian**

**EndingFury here! This is my first collab EVER! I don't even know what I'm doing anyways! Yeeeaaaahhhh! Collab is with Featherflower**

**Yo guys, Featherflower here! Just popping in to say hi, and thank SpiritedandLoyal for her Enderborn idea, which will be touched on later. EndingFury and I wrote this together, enjoy!**

_It'll never get her! _The scientist vowed to himself. Nothing would touch Kim. He would battle this thing, like normal, but lately, he'd had another reason to succeed. Kim. Nothing would touch her. Especially not it.

Duncan heard a clattering noise in the far room, followed by a string of colourful, accented curses about Endermen. The scientist, fiercely battling his inner demon, struggled onto his feet and walked over to investigate what was going on. The roar of today's nuke still echoed in his ears. The explosion had been wasted. He hasn't stopped his enemy. The threat to all of Tekkit-Topia was still out there. He'd only attacked the girl to get his attention, though it hasn't been the one he was after that had come to her rescue.

What if it was that man, here right now? It sounded like him… and the curses made sense then…

There were no weapons in the lab. He didn't want to make it easier for his alter-ego to take control and kill the others. So Duncan walked towards the noise, praying the person would be friendly.

But the moment he got there, he knew that wasn't the case. A purple-silver sword flew at him the moment the scientist walked near where the sound had come from. Two angry, vibrant lilac orbs glowed in the shadows.

It was Rythian. And he wasn't here for pleasantries. The edge of the sword caught the back of his leg while Duncan scrambled to get away from the mage.

His mask, of course, covered the bottom of his face. He literally radiated rage. This wasn't the mage like when he was around Zoeya. This was the mage that Duncan had discovered. The one the scientist had tried to destroy.

The violet tinted sword flew  
>at his face, its edge already stained red with his blood. The cut on his<br>leg stung, but it was going to get worse if he didn't stop the mage.

"Rythian?"

"I gave you your chance, Duncan. You broke the truce." He hissed. His  
>eyes glowed a brilliant purple, which was rather terrifying.<p>

"Are you going to kill me while I'm defenceless?"

"Really Duncan?" He roared. All these years, the scientist had never heard Rythian raise his voice. Until now. "How can you say that?" He continued. "After what happened to Zoeya? Your nuke left us defenceless! And then you had the

audacity to attack again! You would have killed her! Don't even try to lie to me. Had Teep not chased you off, I'd be avenging her death right now!"

Duncan backed away from the deadly, flashing blade, his hands questing for  
>something to use as a weapon. He was panicked, and not quite thinking straight. The demon still struggled, adding to his confused and shattered world. His fingers brushed something cold and hard. Duncan grabbed the thing and pulled it off the counter to where he could see it, recognizing it as a pair of scissors.<p>

His new weapon.

Duncan ripped them open, gripping one handle and one blade in his hand, and  
>slashed the other at Rythian. A little too fast. A little too hard. A little too close. And he didn't bother adjusting that. The blond haired scientist didn't care.<p>

The serrated blade bit the flesh of the mage's throat and ripped into it.  
>The mage froze, shock apparent on his face. Then his sword fell and he<br>crumpled to the ground, hands flying up to his neck to hide the wound as blood splattered onto the ground, colouring his long fingers.

"Rythian?" A female voice shrieked. Turning around, Duncan saw Zoeya, staring in horror at the fallen mage. The mage that he had felled, using nothing  
>but the pair of scissors that were still in his hand.<p>

She ran to his side, but before she even got there, Duncan knew there was  
>no way Rythian would live. The teeth of the scissors had ripped far<br>too deep. There was too much blood on the ground, and on the handles  
>of the scissors and staining Duncan's fingers crimson.<p>

And it was his fault. He had done it. He hadn't controlled the rage  
>enough not to kill Rythian.<p>

"Duncan?" Zoeya gasped. "W-what-"

"Get out!" The scientist shrieked

hysterically. "Go! Take him and go!"

Zoeya looked like she wanted to say more, but thought better of it.  
>She stuffed her cape under Rythian's chin in an effort to stop the<br>blood, and struggled to get him off the ground. Duncan walked silently over  
>to her and lifted the mage onto her shoulders, and thought he heard a<br>low moan of pain from him. But that was impossible.

"I'll come for you, Duncan. I want you to know that." She sobbed.  
>But, amid her tears, he could hear foreboding strength. She would keep<br>that promise.

Then she left, leaving Duncan alone with a pair of bloodstained scissors.

"Duncan?" The scientist turned around.

"Oh, Notch, Kim." He sobbed. His apprentice looked confused.

"What's in your hand?"

"Something terrible." Duncan replied, dropping them on the ground where they landed in a puddle of warm, crimson blood.

"Duncan, is that Rythian's sword on the ground there?" She demanded.

"Yes."

"And in your hand… a pair of scissors." She remarked. "What happened here?"

"A battle. That I won."

"Duncan, what do you mean?" She asked, but Duncan got the feeling that already knew.

"I killed him. Don't you see it, Kim?" Asked the scientist. "I killed Rythian Enderborn." The final bits of adrenaline wore off, leaving Duncan exhausted and in shock. His leg burned.

Kim stared in horror. "How?"

"The scissors. He didn't see them coming, they were too small. I slashed and-" His voice caught, and he coughed, cough turning into a sob. The scientist hadn't wanted to kill someone. Not after the nuke. He hadn't been going to kill Zoeya. That Rythian had been wrong about.

Kim ran up and put her arm around his stomach. Falling to him knees, the scientist leaned into Kim's embrace, using her for support.

"Duncan, he chose to come after you. You were defending yourself." She quietly commented, holding the scientist.

"Then why does it feel so…maleficent?" He hiccuped, looking into his apprentice's face. "Why does it feel like I deliberately killed a human being that might even have NOT been a full human?"

Kim hesitated with her response. "Duncan…why did he try to kill you?" She peered into his green eyes.

Duncan looked away. "I broke it." He mumbled.

"Broke what?" Was her cautious reply.

Duncan repeated louder. "I broke it. I broke the truce and now I'm going to die because of it."

"What happened Duncan? What did you do?" Kim sobbed, horrified.

"I tracked them down. I blew them up for a second time. I-" the scientist swallowed. "I almost got the Mage. I was going after Rythian."

"But… why?" Kim sat with her hands holding up her friend's head, getting him to look at her.

"He was a monster. I knew what he was, and that he'd kill everyone if I didn't stop him." Duncan clarified.

"And what about YOUR second side, Lalna? Is it right if a monster is killed by a brutal slaughterer, who is ALSO a monster?" She talked back to the depressed man.

He looked startled when Kim mentioned Lalnable Hector.

"How-how do you know about Lalnable?" He stuttered, warily watching the girl's face.

"I hear you going to your lab every night, Duncan. I know that you try to keep him under control every 12 hours while I sleep. No wonder you didn't have a bed when I first showed up here; if you sleep, he'll kill you." Kim explained to the shaken male.

"No. Not me." He shook his head. "He'll destroy everyone around me, and THEN torture me to death. It would be better if he'd just kill me."

If his apprentice was scared, she did a good job hiding it. "See, Duncan? And how was Rythian a monster?" Her quarries didn't surprise the scientist. Of course she wanted to know.

"He wasn't human." Duncan hissed, eyes flickering red for mere seconds before reverting back to shattered pine-green. The mental blow left his ears ringing and vision blurry, as though he was looking through a film of tears. Which he was. His heart ached. He didn't want to be this.

Kim shied away, but the scientist pulled her close to him, needing her support. The girl didn't shy again.

"How wasn't he human?" She asked, stroking his hair like a parent would a distraught child. Her fluxy fingers stuck a little to the blond strands, but he didn't complain. Just having her there was reassuring.

"I don't understand how it happened, but it makes perfect sense. Purple eyes, strong magic, ability to withstand higher injury levels, aversion to the End… Rythian was part Enderman." The man explained through tears of fear and shock. Fear mostly directed at himself. The beast in his head, and heart, battled his defences, but he had to win. For Kim. And also, he'd done enough damage today.

His apprentice nodded, and her next question startled him.

"Does Zoeya know?" Duncan shrugged.

"I don't know." He hiccuped, though the sobbing had stopped. "I didn't tell her."

"Doesn't his own apprentice have the right to know? Also, how'd you find out?" The girl with black hair asked. Duncan's knees felt wet, and when he glanced down, he realized that they were in a puddle of blood, and the warm crimson had soaked into his pants, as well as the edges of his white coat. Kim's white tights were equally stained. His demon fought, encouraging him to rip open the girl and let her red flow join the rest on the floor. The dark pool was so tempting… he almost scooped some up in his hands to bring to his lips…

It was Duncan's turn to pull away from their embrace, terrified. He'd never been around another person during the 12 hours of the night, the worst time for him. The time when it was all the he could do not to be swept away by the creature's bloody will.

Kim gazed sadly at him, her eyes, one a dead purple, one chocolate brown, lending him strength. He sighed.

"What was the question?" Kim pressed her fingers against his lips.

"Hush, Duncan. Go to the lab. We'll talk in the morning." The man shook his head.

"I'm staying with you. I don't have the strength myself. Not tonight." He told his apprentice. Kim stood and pulled the haggard scientist to his feet.

"Come on then." She muttered, lending Duncan her shoulder.

_This isn't just a death anymore._ He realized. _This was a murder. And a direct attack on me_. How could Duncan live knowing that Zoeya was alone tonight, crying and plotting his doom, while he still had Kim.

"Duncan, my question was: Doesn't Zoeya deserve to know, and how did you find out?" Kim repeated, conceding that Duncan was serious about her asking again.

"Yes, she does have the right to know. But I can't tell her. She'll kill me. And I found out from a sample I took. I think it was ether blood or hair."

"I could try to talk to her." The girl offered, helping Duncan out of his coat and into the bed, ignoring his blood-soaked knees. She sat down next to him, and waiting for the clearly panic-stricken man to answer.

"Don't. Zoeya might attack you, to hurt me. I need you." _You're the only thing holding me to this world._ He didn't finish the phrase.

Kim stared into his ghost-filled green eyes, clearly hearing his unsaid words.

"Go to sleep, Duncan. We'll figure it out in the morning."

**See yall soon, same fanfiction time, same fanfiction channel!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

**Row, row, row your boat, gently through the mall! Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Ridge will kill you all!**

**~YOGSCAST Ridgedog**

**Man, this chapter took a long time. I think… Anyways, enjoy this second chapter that I REALLY messed up on the first time I worked on it! :)**

**~EndingFury**

**Hey guys, chapter 2, right here! Have fun reading this! EndingFury and I had fun writing it, and debating about it. LOL!**

**~Featherflower**

Zoeya

"Teep! Help!" The red haired girl called into the blackened sky. Her shoulders burned from carrying the mage at a dead run. The tiny mud shack they had hastily constructed loomed an impossible distance away. "Greenman!" Sobbed the girl, checking Rythian's cold wrist for a pulse. She still wasn't convinced that she wasn't just sending her own hammering heart. But the beating was too faint to be hers. He was alive.

The dinosaur ran out of the small door and darted towards Zoeya. He looked a little confused, but didn't hesitate to pull the mage off Zoeya's shoulders and relieve her of her burden. The girl almost collapsed, but she had to get to the shack. They weren't even close to CaberTown, the shack was their only hope… there was no medical supplies in the shack.

Zoeya sobbed. Teep kept running, but she stopped, mentally figuring out the closest friendly residence that could help her.

Honeydew Inc? Would Xephos and Honeydew be able to help? What if I go find Ridge? Would the arrogant demigod be willing to help?

Zoeya decided that her best bet was Honeydew Inc. If Rythian died, she'd go find Ridgedog. He liked meddling with things beyond the rest of them. Things Zoeya believed were forces greater the Ridge himself.

Shuddering, Zoeya remembered what it would be like for her master if Ridge OP'ed him and allowed him to respawn. For Rythian to remember… everything. Her experience with it wasn't pleasant. Of course, she didn't remember the one from the old world. Rythian did. She assumed there were more for her as well, not just the ones after the nuke and the TARDIS.

And probably more for Rythian. More things he might remember.

I need to go. She decided. Before Ridge is my only hope.

The sky was just lightening into dawn, streaked with purple, pink and orange, when she got to the door of Honeydew Inc.

"Xephos! Honeydew!" She shouted, hoping for a quick answer. But no one replied.

_Zoeya Xephos Honeydew! I need your help!_

Her own words flashed behind her eyes, in glowing white characters. The responses did as well.

_Inthlittlewood What? Zoeya? Are you okay? What do you need Xephos and Honeydew for?_

_Sototallytoby Butt out Martyn!_

_Inthelittlewood Sorry_

_Zoeya it's okay._

_Lividcoffee Oh Notch Xephos Honeydew don't listen to her! Sorry Zoeya!_

_Nanosounds Duncan! Leave her alone!_

_Sparklesbian where are those two?_

_Zoeya guys, please answer its urgent._

_Xephos What is it Zoeya?_

The girl almost fainted with relief when Xephos's words flashed.

_Zoeya come quick Rythian's dying! She sent frantically, grateful for Duncan's crazy communication device._

_Ridgedog Oh dear._

_Honeydew we're coming Zoeya, Ridge unless you're going to be helpful, shut up._

_Ridgedog I am being helpful. I haven't done anything unhelpful._

_Sips_ coming… that's what she said. Sorry I missed this convo what's going on?_

_Sjin just shut up, Sips. I've learned that it's good for your health._

_Mintyminute Sjin! You do listen! Sometimes._

The spaceman and dwarf ran out the door, Xephos still pulling on his red and gold trimmed coat.

"Zoeya, have you got any supplies?" He asked.

"No, Duncan blew them up." She answered quickly.

_Honeydew what the hell Duncan? _

_Lividcoffee I'm so sorry..._

_Zoeya Sorry doesn't cut it you almost killed Rythie! She almost sobbed as she wrote that._

_Lividcoffee I thought he was dead..._

_Rythian no… just… close… Zoeya… don't call me Rythie…_

_Nilesy I'm at you're shack hurry back Zoeya it's not pretty._

Zoeya didn't even hesitate to see if Xephos and the dwarf were following her. At Nilesy's words, she took off towards the shack.

_Xephos We're grabbing supplies we'll be shortly behind you!_

_Zoeya Hurry!_

It was a long way to the shack, and this was her third run tonight. Her breathes were ragged gasps and her feet were bloody and torn, as she had no shoes. Martyn joined her about halfway to the shack, darting out of the forest with all the speed of an elf.

_Kaeyidream Good luck! Beware Duncan!_

_Lividcoffee You don't understand!_

_Nanosounds Not here, Duncan. She'll learn soon._

_Ridgedog Interesting… I look forward to seeing how this plays out._

_Zoeya Is that all we are? Stories with interesting endings?_

_Ridgedog Pretty much._

_Nilesy Debate later Zoeya you've got bigger problems._

_Zoeya I'm nearly there!_

The shack was barely visible. Zoeya's strides were becoming slower and slower, though she struggled to stay running. Martyn kept pace with her easily, though his cheeks and pointed ears were slightly red. He must have ran pretty far before he'd joined her.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, barely breathing any heavier than normal.

"I have to be!" The red head gasped. Her forehead had a sheen to it, and her lungs burned. But she was nearly at the shack. Martyn would be able to help, and Xephos and Honeydew, and if that went wrong, Ridge…

"I'm here!" She cried, looking from the dinosaur, to the pool boy, and finally the unconscious man on the bed.

"He's lost a lot of blood, but I managed to slow the flow down a bit." Nilesy stated as he pressed the red-soaked cloth down to the throat wound. Rythian's normally tan skin tone had turned pale and sickly, almost like tree sap.

"So what do we do now?" Zoeya asked, panic starting to settle in more.

"I can try to heal him with my magic." Martyn commented unsurely.

"Well then tell us what you need!" Zoeya practically screamed.

Martyn winced; she was right in his ear. "I'm going to need 3 red flowers, 6 pine saplings, 1 extremely tall fern and a healing potion. NOW!" Martyn barked at Xephos and Honeydew. The two men were staring at the mage, not believing what they were seeng. They jumped, startled, then ran into the woods to quickly find the needed plants.

"What can I do?" The mushroom girl sobbed.

The Sapling Prince turned towards the bright ginger. "I need you to get a fire going and a cauldron filled with the healing potion on top of it." He commanded in a slightly quieter voice.

A message popped up in the girl's sight.

_Sototallytoby Is he dead yet?_

_Inthelittlewood No, but please shut up Toby so I can concentrate! _

_Sototallytoby Sorry!_

Zoeya wanted to butt into the conversation, but she had a job to do. She grabbed the healing potions out of the spaceman's and dwarf's bags and put them beside her teacher.

"Hang in there, Rythie." She whispered to the man, ignoring his earlier rejection of the nickname. "We'll get you back in right shape soon. Just don't give up on us. On me." The tears threatened to come back, but the mushroom lover pushed them aside, and brought out the netherrack and flint-and-steel.

She dug a hole in the ground and placed the block of magenta into the hole. The flint-and-steel quickly got it burning, and the cauldron decided to finally work for her and settled nicely on top of the flames. She hurriedly poured the healing potions into it bowl-like tool until it was full.

Martyn had been glancing between the forest and Zoeya the whole time. "Where ARE they?" He muttered.

"Maybe they got held up by a persistent skeleton?" Zoeya weakly suggested.

_Ridgedog If he dies I want to study his corpse. _

_Lividcoffee THAT HAS GOT TO BE THE DUMBEST THING YOU HAVE EVER SAID. _

_Nanosounds Duncan! Get back here, and no more messaging! You heard Martyn, he needs to concentrate!_

_Ridgedog In my honest opinion, I don't think he's going to survive. How is NATURE magic going to save a HUMAN?_

_Zoeya SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU! _

_Xephos We got the supplies! We're coming!_

_Nilesy Hurry! He's doesn't have much time! _

Zoeya turned the pool boy. In all of her movements, she had forgotten about him. "How is he?" She demanded, not certain if she wanted to hear his response.

"Too much blood." He murmured. The cloth that he had been holding was covered in what looked like tomato juice.

"We just need a few more minutes!" She cried, staring at the forest along with the elfin-type man, waiting for the dwarf and the spaceman to return.

"We may not have a few minutes!" Nilesy warned, throwing aside the soaked cloth and grabbing another. Rythian's apprentice swallowed a sob.

_Xephos we can see the house we'll be there in about thirty seconds._

_Inthelittlewood hurry up already!_

Zoeya paced the floor, waiting for the men to return. Rythian's breaths were inaudible, and if it weren't for Nilesy still just staring, she would have thought he was dead.

"We're here!" Xephos announced, dropping the supplies on a small counter and turning to the Sapling Prince, eyes glowing a bit.

"What next?" He asked.

"You can go." He answered, throwing the ingredients into the cauldron on mixing them together, with no apparent difficulty, aside from the rigid tendons in his neck. The Sapling Prince was putting more effort into the healing then he was willing to let on. Xephos and Honeydew ran out of the hut.

"How much longer?" She demanded the Sapling Prince.

"It's done!" Martyn exclaimed proudly, holding up a glass vile filled with olive green fluid in it. "We need to get Rythian to drink this healing potion."

Teep helped Nilesy sit Rythian up. Martyn carefully poured the potion down the enchanter's throat. He moaned as the thick and goopy medicine went down his throat.

"Now we have to sit and wait for it to work." Nilesy declared.

_Sparklesbian How is he?_

_Zoeya We just gave him the healing/nature potion. Martyn says it won't take long before the bleeding stops._

_Kaeyidream Why didn't you take Toby, Martyn? You could've used his help with the next step._

_Inthelittlewood No. I don't want him to see this._

_Sototallytoby Why not? I'm old enough, and I'm pretty sure I am NOT going to get any nightmares from seeing a techno-mage bleeding out to his death._

_Teep Don't say that!_

The sudden appearance of the dinosaur on the chat made Zoeya almost scream with fright. She didn't even know that Duncan had given the mute dinosaur one of his communication devices.

_Teep Never say ANYTHING unless you mean it. And besides, would Rythian like it if everyone thought automatically that once he got a wound that it would kill him? He's tougher than you think._

_Sototallytoby You're right. Sorry Zoeya. I wasn't thinking properly._

_Zoeya You are forgiven, Toby. I know what it's like. Now what's this about the next step?_

"The next step is when he wakes up. We will then have to create another potion for him to have after 12 hours, and say the mutterings." Martyn explained to the confused pupil.

"Mutterings?" Zoeya asked, cocking her head.

"The spoken part of the potion." Martyn clarified. "A spell has to invoke the potion into action."

"Do you know when he might wake up?" The pool boy wondered.

"No, although it should be soon." Was Martyn's reply.

_Inthelittlewood He's awake!_

Zoeya, Kaeyi and Toby sat up groggily in their beds.

_Sips What's going on? Who's awake? Besides me anyways._

_Sjin He is talking about Rythian. He's awake._

Zoeya leapt from her borrowed bed at Inthelittlecorp and rushed to the door.

"Wait up, Zoeya! Teep found a portal gun that Rythian apparently stole from Lalna so he left a portal at your shack and one here so you don't have to run back and forth!" Kaeyi cried after the ginger.

"Oh thank goodness!" Zoeya exclaimed. She followed the pink haired woman to the blue portal that awaited their arrival. She stopped in her tracks. "Rythian STOLE a portal gun from Duncan?"

Kaeyi frowned. "That's what Teep wrote."

"Well, let's keep moving. Rythian is waiting for us."

**Keep waiting! You'll see from us soon!**

**~EndingFury + Featherflower**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**It was Featherflower's idea! Not mine! Actually, I forget whose idea it originally was… SPARE ME! I'M TO YOUNG TO DIE!**

**~EndingFury**

******I DIDN'T DO IT! IT'S NOT MY FAULT!  
>~Featherflower<br>**  
>"Hey, Zoeya. I think I can try the spell now." Martyn told her the<br>moment she walked in. The girl's shoulders slackened from relief.

"He's awake?" She asked.

"Barely." A voice whispered. She turned to look at the two weak  
>purple eyes staring at her. "Honestly, I'm a little surprised I woke<br>up at all."

"Me too." She admitted sadly. Rythian smiled, and closed his eyes.

"Already?" Zoeya half pouted, half cried. The Sapling Prince nodded grimly.

"Nilesy and I made another dose of the potion. Pour all but a drop or  
>two down his throat. I need to have some to judge the progress." He<br>commanded, pointing to a small vial. The mushroom enthusiast obeyed,  
>leaving a drop at the bottom of the contained.<p>

"Now I start to spell." The blue-eyed man said, and starting  
>muttering something no one else in the room understood. Words that<br>made the room seem to vibrate. The syllables resounded off the mud  
>walls. Zoeya stayed quiet for as long as she could.<p>

"Is it working?" She burst out. The Sapling Prince did not respond,  
>he just continued his muttering. <em>"<em>_...relegant vulnera sana carne...  
>fulciretur os..."<em>

"Martyn?" Zoeya persisted. Rythian was unconscious again, of  
>course, a low moaning sound occasionally stirring his voice, hopefully<br>as the spell worked... Martyn sighed, but continued his spell. The  
>sorcerer's apprentice was just going to keep bothering him until the<br>spell took affect. He knew that.

_"...uti tua magicae potentia converteret..."_ Nilesy looked pained,  
>watching the scant remainder of the second dose of the potion, that<br>the elven man had especially left there to check his magic's progress;  
>bubbled and hissed, though Rythian's condition didn't change. The<br>breath hissed between his teeth as he finished his chanting.  
><em>"...viribos tuis accipe flectere voluntatem. Sana hoc homine." <em>His  
>shoulders stiffened briefly as his own power and energy fed the spell,<br>leaving him weak and famished.

"Martyn?"

"I don't know." He said quietly. "It should have been having an  
>immediate reaction, as I said the words." The mushroom girl moaned.<p>

"Don't freak out yet!" The blond told her, stifling a yawn. His  
>stomach cramped painfully. "The potion helped, and we've got a bit of<br>time. I'm just gonna ask one quick question."

Inthelittlewood Hey Ridge?

Ridgedog Yes?

Inthelittlewood You were sort of right about the magic thing... any  
>idea why you were right? Nature magic works on humans as well as<br>elves.

Ridgedog Duncan knows.

Nanosounds Duncan isn't going to announce it to everybody!

Ridgedog It's that or your boyfriend becomes a murderer. Pick your  
>poison, Nano.<p>

"What are they talking about?" Zoeya muttered, glancing from Martyn  
>to the wizard and back again, blue eyes wide and upset.<p>

"Your guess is better than mine." The blond replied.

Sparklesbian Stop speaking in riddles and give Martyn an answer!

Lividcoffee Kim, I'm going to tell them. I don't want the blood on  
>my hands. Not anymore. However, my information won't save his life.<br>Not in any conventional way that wouldn't just do him more harm.

Zoeya What do you mean?

Lividcoffee Rythian isn't human. That's why I blew up your  
>Stronghold. I was trying to eliminate a threat to the whole world.<p>

Zoeya Duncan... how isn't he human?

Lividcoffee I'll tell you more in person some other time. It won't  
>help you anyways. Good luck, Zoeya.<p>

Zoeya DUNCAN!

Lividcoffee WHAT WAS THAT MOTHER? I'M COMING! Bye guys!

Server Lividcoffee has left.

Zoeya gritted her teeth, then just sobbed.

"That part with the server is always strange." Martyn remarked,  
>keeping a careful eye on the unconscious mage.<p>

Parv I don't get it...

Nanosounds You don't have to!

Sparklesbian I don't either, Parv.

Xephos I think I do...

Alsmiffy I'm so confused...

Sips Shut up, Kermit.

Alsmiffy As Kim would say, RUDE!

Rythian Could everyone please stop talking about me?

Zoeya Rythian? But you're not awake…

Rythian Well that doesn't mean that I can't talk in my head while I  
>can't hear you, does it?<p>

Nanosounds Lalna DID make them to work while you're sleeping as  
>well, you know.<p>

Mintyminute CAN'T YOU GUYS JUST LET US SLEEP? It's like… 6:27! IN  
>THE MORNING!<p>

Zoeya Sorry. Can't help it.

Rythian But seriously guys, can we all just go back to bed? And  
>leave me alone? I have the major headache here, not you.<p>

"Another 7 hours, Zoeya." Martyn called out to the girl who was  
>about to continue the conversation.<p>

"Hm? Oh, sorry. Alright, we can wait." She stared at the Mage.

Zoeya We're going to get you out of this mess, Rythian. Just hang in there.

There was no response. He must've turned it off or fallen into a  
>deeper sleep.<p>

"You go get some more sleep, Zoeya. Me and Martyn can stay here and  
>watch him. We'll call you over if we need you." Nilesy told the girl.<p>

"No! I'm staying here! This IS mine and Rythian's and Teep's shack  
>you know." She replied stubbornly.<p>

The pool boy nodded. "I know. But when Rythian officially wakes up,  
>he's going to want the normally energetic Zoeya that he remembers and<br>not a tired and sleepy Zoeya that he's never seen before."

The girl considered this. "Oh, all right. But tell me if ANYTHING  
>happens. Like, LITERALLY anything."<p>

The Sapling Prince chuckled. "We get it Zoeya. Now go to bed. We'll  
>wake you up around lunch time; you look like you need that much rest.<br>And I think you do, I should know."

IF ONLY I HAD A MIRROR. Zoeya thought to herself.

She stepped outside the wide open door and closed it, memories  
>telling her that Rythian liked it when she closed the doors behind<br>her. Around the right corner of the house, the portal back to Kaeyi's  
>place stood against the wall. She paced a couple steps back, then took<br>off to the portal at a running speed. She jumped through it, feeling  
>her atoms breaking apart and reassembling at the destination.<p>

"Zoeya, how is he?" The bubblegum coloured hair girl ran towards her  
>friend. She wrapped her arms around her. The red head laughed her<br>genuine laugh that hadn't been heard since the past couple of days.

"He's fine now." She answered to her friend.

"Well, come on back to the bedroom. It's time to get a little more  
>sleep." Kaeyi led her to the beds once more.<p>

"I have to wait SEVEN hours before they can try to wake him up!"  
>Zoeya whined as they walked to the house.<p>

"Well in that time you can get a good morning nap." Toby smirked when  
>he came into view.<p>

"Thank you for speaking up, Toby, because I nee you go to and plant  
>Marytn's daily tree."<p>

"But isn't that Martyn's job if they're HIS tree saplings?"

"Well then the next time a mob comes stumbling over I'll get you to  
>go dance in front of him while I eat popcorn. NOW GO!" She pointed in<br>the direction of the house. The almost adult grumbled, but he went  
>like a good little boy. The woman turned to Zoeya when she saw the boy<br>enter the building. "Where were we?"

Nilesy Zoeya! You can come back!

Zoeya looked up from her lunch of apples at nothing but an apple tree.

Zoeya I'll be right there!

She ran to the portal and didn't stop until she landed at the other side.

"Boo." A whisper made it's way to her ears. She jumped and spun  
>around to see who it was. Nilesy stood there with a sleepy smirk on.<br>"Got you."

"Ugh!" Zoeya groaned. "Is he awake or what?" They had walked to the  
>door but didn't face the man in the bed. Nilesy and Martyn sat on the<br>small counter in the shack. looking tired; dark bags fell beneath  
>their eyes and were bloodshot from staying up 24 hours without rest.<p>

"Well if you actually turned around and looked at me you might be  
>able to figure it out." A melodically accented voice rang through the<br>air.

Zoeya jumped once more at the voice's words. She turned around and  
>saw him smiling weakly at her light up face.<p>

"Hello Zoeya." He said, still slightly smiling through his mask.

"RYTHIAN!" Zoeya squealed. She threw her arms around her friend. "We  
>thought you may never wake up you were out so long!" She gently<br>squeezed him. He grunted.

"Can you let go of me now? I think I have some explaining to do for  
>you. AND ONLY ZOEYA!" He warned to Martyn and Nilesy, who had both<br>perked up from their slouched positions at the mention at some  
>explanations. They both slumped down underneath the pressure of not<br>sleeping and the magic not working.

"You guys go home and sleep; I'll let Rythie talk to me here. We'll  
>be fine." The girl assured the two sleepy heads. Reluctantly they both<br>left for the mustard yellow portal that would bring them to  
>InTheLittleCorp where a certain pink haired girlfriend and son-like<br>teenager waited for them.

"Did I ever tell you NOT to call me 'Rythie'?" The man lying in the  
>sky-coloured bed asked her when she had let go of him and sat the foot<br>of the bed.

"Oh, yesterday." Zoeya replied cheekily. She grinned. "Now what do I  
>need to know about you?" She demanded.<p>

Rythian sighed. "I don't know how to say this… Like Duncan told  
>everybody before, I'm not human. At least, not completely human."<p>

"Then what ARE you? And why have you kept this from me for so long? I  
>thought we trusted each other…" Zoeya said quietly.<p>

"I DO trust you, I just didn't want anybody to know what monster I  
>actually AM!" He moaned, his face going back it's normal hard<br>expression.

"Then how does Duncan, out of ALL people who should know this secret  
>of yours, know it!" Zoeya snapped, frustrated with her partner all of<br>a sudden. "You can't trust ME, your apprentice, when you can tell your  
>NEMESIS?!" She shouted, silently thanking Notch that no one was<br>present at the couple's fight.

"And now you know how I felt when I discovered that you had a SCIENCE  
>LAB underneath Blackrock Stronghold!" Rythian snapped right back. He<br>immediately regretted it. One, because it used up a lot of his energy,  
>and two, Zoeya had tears running down her face when he talked back to<br>her. It looked like what he said didn't register very nicely with the  
>mushroom lover.<p>

"Oh that's the point, huh? To get back at me for not telling you  
>something that I should've told you?" She demanded, practically<br>whispered to him.

"Zoeya…" He wanted to tell her so BADLY about everything that he  
>hadn't told her; why Duncan knew already. What he was planning on<br>doing later, but he needed the calm Zoeya that he knew and not this  
>new hyperventilating Zoeya.<p>

"DON'T TALK TO ME! EVER!" She bellowed at him. She leapt up from  
>his bed and faced him. "If you don't want me, then just SAY! Oh wait,<br>you don't LIKE speaking your 'secrets' to ANYBODY!" She stalked out of  
>the shack, leaving a brokenhearted mage behind in the dust.<p>

"I love you." He whispered to no one but the air itself.

**TIGGER WARNING! TW SUICIDE! DO NOT READ THIS NEXT PART IF YOU CAN'T  
>HANDLE IT WE'LL EXPLAIN IT IN THE AUTHOR'S NOTE OF THE NEXT CHAPTER!<strong>

"Greenman? You there or am I imagining Zoeya again?" Rythian called  
>into the night. The day had passed and his apprentice hadn't come<br>back. The dinosaur stepped out from the shadows. His bow and quiver  
>slung across his back.<p>

"Well I'm happy to see a familiar face. It's better than lying here  
>all by myself for 24 hours not being able to do anything." He sighed.<br>"You what we're doing, right?" He asked wearily. The greenman nodded.  
>"Well let's get this over with. Nobody gets to know what ACTUALLY<br>happened, got that?" The mute companion nodded once more. "And please  
>don't tell Zoeya… I know she wants me to tell her about everything,<br>but… this is one secret that she must NEVER find out."

The dinosaur grabbed his weapon off of his back as Rythian prepared  
>for the aftermath. He still couldn't believe he was doing this, but<br>the blade had been infected with science, and something told him that  
>his… other side didn't agree with it. So he was going to die either<br>way. He heard the arrow notch the bow and pull back.

Teep You still sure about this?

"Ready as I'll see be." The purple eyed man replied. "Quick and  
>painless, right Tee?" The dinosaur nodded. Rythian squeezed his eyes<br>shut.

If you listened really closely in the silence on that night, from  
>anywhere in the world you could hear the soft thunk of an arrow<br>hitting it's mark. A mage's heart.

And if you had let Duncan install his communications device in your  
>brain, you would've seen:<p>

Server Rythian was shot by Teep.

**I'm learning, okay? LEARNING. So I am sorry about all the italics and paragraphs that are messed up. THAT is my fault. **

**I am NOT, however, sorry for killing off Rythian. That was actually kind of fun. Wait… DID I JUST TYPE WHAT I AM SEEING? I think my fingers are moving on their own accord. SOMEBODY HELP ME! Maybe Lalnable Hector is possessing me… **

**~EndingFury**

**I told you I didn't do it! Spell means, in Latin (And don't judge me I  
>suck at this kind of thing):<strong>

**Banish the wounds, heal the flesh, mend the bone, use thine magic to  
>bring back power. Take mine abilities and bend them at your will. Heal<br>the man.  
>(I'm sorry for any disappointment)<br>~Featherflower**


	4. Chapter 4 Repercussions Of Death

**Chapter 4~ Repercussions Of Death **

**So we are literally going to make Ross ****_EAT SHIT_****!**

**~ YOGSCAST Kim**

**Hey guys EndingFury here! We are going to name all the chapters from now on so get used to it!**

**So we said that we were going to explain why we decided to kill Rythian off in such a horrible way… The reason is go ask Featherflower BECAUSE I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW! **

**But anyways have fun reading this chapter!**

**P.S: Sorry about the chat and symbols. Trying something new for this chapter; tell me if it works. ****J**

**~EndingFury**

{Server} Rythian was shot by Teep.

Duncan could have sworn the whole area of Tekkit-Topia fell momentarily silent at the announcement. But it lasted only seconds before an eerie, keening wail echoed from the crater of the original Blackrock Stronghold.

[Nanosounds] What?

[Ridgedog] This just got intriguing. Can I have the corpse?

[nthelittlewood] What the hell? He was going to be healed, Teep!

[Teep] … I'm sorry.

The scientist took off for the crater. He had only recently gotten back from his 'trip away' and his mind really wasn't wrapping around the fact that his one wish had come true.

Zoeya's wailing had quieted, but the shock and emotion were going to be a problem soon.

He waited for Zoeya to shriek at Teep through the chat, but her only message was:

[Zoeya] Ridge, meet me by the first crater. Please.

[Ridgedog] Of course, Zoeya.

[Lividcoffee] I'll be there too.

[Kaeyidream] Is that wise, Duncan?

[Zoeya] No, let him come.

Duncan pulled to a halt as he reached the crater, seeing Zoeya at the edge of the pit full of stained stones and charcoal. Tears streaked her face.

"Why would he do it?" She demanded as soon as the blind was visible. "Why would Greenman do that?"

"Why don't you ask him?" The man suggested cautiously. The girl looked at him.

"While I wait for Ridge, how about you answer that question?" She sighed. "Rythian was going to tell me what you meant… but I didn't let him. I ran off, yelled at him, and now I'll never get the chance to say I'm sorry."

Kim's teacher wasn't sure what to say to that. "Do you want me to answer?" The redhead nodded.

"Rythian was part Enderman. I thought he was a threat. That he was dangerous. And he was. He was unpredictable. There was a variable involved that I didn't understand. I was getting rid of him to protect the others!" The scientist rambled, having difficulty justifying himself to the spellbinder's pupil.

"Aw… you finally told her." A loud voice scorned. "But alas! It is but too late to save her fallen love. Or is it?" Zoeya stared at Ridgedog.

"He wasn't my love." She told the puller robed demigod, voice hollow and sad.

"Bullshit, Zoeya." He laughed. "Oh, why do I care? What exactly do you want, Mushroom Girl?" The flying man's exaggerated grin frustrated the analyst. But Duncan held his tongue.

"Is there anything you can do?" The girl blurted.

"Oh, I suppose there is… but I want to know why Teep did that. Actually, I already know. I just want to see your reaction. You have 12 hours to convince the dinosaur to talk." Said the ginger-haired man, fiddling with one of the gold clasps on his coat. "See you when you find out!"

"Come on, Duncan. We have to find the dinosaur." The girl said wearily.

"You could just ask him though the chat. That is the only way he'll be able to answer you anyways." He informed.

"I guess."

[Zoeya] Teep, why would you do that?

[Teep] I can't say.

[Zoeya] Then at least come to the crater and hear out my reasons for wanting to know.

[Sparklesbian] You owe her at least that, Tee. I won't say you owe all of us that, because you really don't, but you do owe Zoeya an explanation.

[Teep] Fine. I'll be right there.

"Do you figure you can talk it out of him?" Asked Duncan.

"I have to."

**TEEP**

_Well, I'm going to have to think of something._ He told himself. _Rythian said that I shouldn't tell her, and if I do and he gets OP'd, who knows what he'll do to me if I tell Zoeya. _

He reached the crater where Duncan had blown Zoeya up along with Blackrock Stronghold.

"Hello Tee." Zoeya's greeting was hollow. "Can you please tell me why you did that?"

The green dinosaur pulled a book and quill out of the bag that everybody carried; Sjin's idea.

He wrote _No. I can't. _

"Well can you at least just stay away from everyone else right now? Everybody thinks you're a murderer." She yawned. He nodded in agreement, and turned to go into the forest on the opposite side of the crater. "And Teep?" He spun around to look at the ginger. "I would like to know because-"

_I get it._ The dino wrote. _You want to know because he was your teacher and you guys trusted each other with your lives. Look where that got you. _

Zoeya looked hurt. "Teep-"

[Teep] Don't Zoeya. You want me gone so I'll leave.

And he spun around and left, leaving everything and everyone he knew behind.

**DUNCAN**

"What was THAT?" He said when Greenman left.

"Failure." Zoeya replied, staring sadly at the notebook Teep had left behind. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. "My last to say I was sorry."

"What did he write?" The scientist asked.

"That he promised not to tell." She paused. "And that trusting each other with our lives got us here."

"Listen. I didn't trust Rythian. I had good reasons not to. But I can tell you that your trust in each other didn't get you here. Teep did." The girl nodded.

"I know. It's just, so hard! To be so close…but so far. I have 12 hours still, but Teep is gone, and Rythian will never know that Ridge was right." The last part was a whisper.

"About what?" Duncan asked, feeling a little daft.

"I am- was, in love with Rythian." The scientist nodded.

"What am I going to do?" The girl demanded, brushing tears away from her eyes. The green view screen clicked as it was jostled out of place. Duncan gazed regretfully at her prosthetic arm. Damon Rythian for letting her try to diffuse the Nuke, instead of just taking the fall when the scientist could handle the weight of murder. Damn him for letting his apprentice get hurt. Damn him for being a dangerous variable and for even coming to Tekkit-Topia.

And damn Teep for killing him.

[Ridgedog] Having trouble?

[Zoeya] … yes.

[Ridgedog] Teep, are you being difficult?

[Teep] She wanted me gone. And an answer that I couldn't give.

[Djh3max] Teep, you pansy, you owe Zoeya that answer!

[Trottimus] Yeah!

[Alsmiffy] I third that.

[Sips_] Who asked you, Kermit. Wait, what're we talking about?

[Lividcoffee] Shut the hell up, Sips.

[Sips_] Oops. I'm out of my league again, aren't I?

[Mintyminute] Yeah Sips. You are. Leave Smiffy alone.

[Sips] Fine.

[Ridgedog] Here Zoeya. I'll help.

{Ridgedog} /tp Zoeya XYZ /64 /64/64

{Ridgedog} /tp Teep XYZ /64 /64 /64

And the red haired girl disappeared.

**ZOEYA**

Teep was right next to her. Their surroundings were barren, with only sand, dirt and dead shrubs to be seen. Zoeya pulled out her own pen and paper.

"Teep. In order for Ridge to OP him, you have to tell me why you killed him." She insisted. Teep shook his head and gestured for the quill. The girl handed them to him.

_I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone. Especially you._

"What did he have to do with it?" The girl shrieked. "You killed him! Why did you promise him not to tell why?"

_It concerns only Rythian and I._

"Don't say his name!" The girl yelled. "You aren't… you can't…" and with that, she burst into tears.

_I'm sorry, Zoeya. You don't want to know the answer._

"No I don't. But I have to!" The girl whispered sadly. "Please, Teep. You promised to protect us. All I want to know is why you broke that promise."

_That is the one answer I cannot give._

"So you want him to stay dead, when I have a chance to say him?" The girl cried. "Why did you betray us?" Her voice took a challenging tone.

_I didn't betray you, Zoeya._

"How can you claim that?" Demanded the ginger, eyes shining with tears and hurt.

_Because I was listening to him!_ The dinosaur wrote, expression becoming angry.

"How were you listening to him?" Zoeya was beyond shrieking now. She was hysterical. Above them, a man robed in a gold trimmed coat watched the exchange with interest.

[Teep] I helped him commit suicide!

Ridgedog flew down from his perch the stand between the two friends. "That will be all, I think, Teep." He said, voice pleasant and smooth.

[Inthelittlewood] Oh dear Notch…

[SoTotallyToby] Why would you agree to that, Teep?

[KaeyiDream] He was delirious from pain and blood loss! You couldn't trust what he said!

[Teep] He wasn't delirious and he didn't want to suffer. He asked me to, and I agreed because he was dying anyways.

[Inthelittlewood] NO! He wasn't!

"Aw, how touching. Leave now, Teep." Ridge commanded. The dinosaur complied, leaving Zoeya standing dumbstruck beside the demigod.

**KIM**

"Duncan? Are you still here?" The fluxed girl called out into the crater.

_This is the first time I've _actually _seen this_. She realized.

"I'm here." His rich vocals sounded at the bottom of the pit. Kim carefully flew down the hole with her jetpack and sat beside her friend.

"You wanna hear something that is probably a pretty stupid idea?" She asked him after a minute of comfortable quietness.

"If it's coming from your brain then it _is_ probably a stupid idea. But shoot." He managed to crack a grin at his own words.

The not-so-student smiled her smile. "I have Ridge's taglock." Her slight smile became an evil grin. Duncan sat up from his slouched position.

"You have _WHAT_?" He shrieked in glee, grinning with an evil twist. It made Kim wonder if Lalnable had been in control for a second.

"I have Ridge's blood. And I think we both know what we are going to do with it." She repeated.

"Are you sure that this will work?" Lalna asked when they got back to Panda Labs. They were in the witch circles.

"Positive." Nanosounds reassured. She threw down the necessary ingredients nearby the yellow center piece. She then threw a stone on the chalk marking and waited. A yelp came from somewhere far, far away.

"It's done." She proclaimed after a moment of shock. "I can't believe we _actually _did this."

"I believe we just cursed the one and only demigod in this world." Duncan laughed. "With a curse of insanity. Of course you're not going to get your head wrapped around the idea that we just did something extremely stupid but hilarious."

**ZOEYA **

"Now I'm going to OP Rythian for your currently dying heart, but-AHH!" Ridge was cut off by a short yelp coming from his lips. He fell to the desert and curled up in a ball.

_This is the first time I have seen Ridge show weakness._ Zoeya realized to herself. "What's the matter?" The girl didn't feel very much concern for the man.

"Nothing… just a sudden stomach ache." He winced as he stood back on his two feet. "Now I want something from you if I'm going to do your bidding."

"What do you want then?" Zoeya was starting to get annoyed with Ridge. He kept on buying time with this simple task that only he can do.

"I would like a sort of payment." The demigod smiled coldly.

"I have diamonds on me of you want them." The girl started to pull them out when the man stopped her.

"I need something _much _more precious. I need-AHH!" Another yelp escaped his mouth.

"Ridge. Are you sure you're okay?" Though she didn't really care about the demigod, she couldn't really just sit there and do nothing when someone was in pain.

"Yes. Fine." He hissed, eyes flickering with anger and frustration. Rythian had once told Zoeya to always look into her enemy's eyes, as the eyes are the gate to the soul. She didn't like what she saw in Ridge's. Too cold for what he was about to do. "My price… someone's life. Pick who's. Yours, Sjin, Duncan, Kim, Xephos, Sips, Honeydew, Martyn, Kaeyi, Toby, Nilesy, Smiffy, Ross, Trott, Minty, Sparkles*, anyone. Pick one."

"No!" She cried, horrified. "I'm not… you can't…"

"I can really do what I please." Ridge assured her.

"Not that! Rythian… he wouldn't…" Her voice trailed off.

"I can think of more than one person Rythian would want dead." The man mused. "Duncan, Sjin, Sips…"

"Pick another price, Ridgedog." She insisted.

"Well, 7 is the ghost number so… Ack!" Ridge cut himself off with another cry of pain.

"Why does that matter?" Zoeya asked, dreading his response. Hadn't she already does what Ridge had asked in payment? Teep hadn't even just told her! He's announced it to everyone. Rythian's death was a suicide.

And now she was getting annoyed with his becoming-frequent cries of pain.

Ridgedog plucked a loose strand of red hair from the girl's shoulder. She realized, from a bit of a scientific perspective, and a magical perspective, how dangerous Ridge having that sort of thing was. But, to her relief, he dropped it onto the ground.

"I completely forgot that talking to Teep was your price." Said the ginger haired man, wincing in pain. "Let's go bring back your boyfriend."

Zoeya didn't even protest when the purple-robed man called the mage her boyfriend. She was just glad she didn't have to agree to any of the man's crazy demands.

"CREEPER!" Ridgedog cried out, pointing in an empty space.

"I don't see anything!" Zoeya protested.

"How can you _not_? It's standing right in front of you!" He exclaimed, holding his sword trying to hit what he was 'seeing'.

"You-but… Let's just get this over with." The red head sighed and started following the demigod once more when he was satisfied that the mob was gone.

**Hey guys! Goodbye for now, see (figuratively) you guys all soon!**


	5. Chapter 5 Everything is Back to Normal?

**Rythian. Are you role playing again?  
>~YOGSCAST Sjin<br>**  
><strong>But does anyone notice there's a corpse in this bed?<br>~Early Sunsets Over Monroeville; I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought  
>Me Your Love; My Chemical Romance.<strong>

**Hi guys we are back with another long chapter! Sorry for any confusion that may have occurred!**

**~EndingFury**

******I'm assuming you guys got the TW from the last chapter, as EndingFury  
>didn't know what to do and she wrote the author's note.<strong>

**I'm gonna go all protective on you guys now.**

**DONT COMMIT SUICIDE, SOMEONE (me) LOVES YOU AND WANTS YOU AROUND AND  
>WOULD CRY IF YOU DIED KEEP ON KEEPING ON YOU CAN GET THROUGH ANYTHING<br>YOU ATE STRONG ENOUGH OH MY GOSH I MEAN IT OKAY? TALK TO SOMEONE, TALK  
>TO ME THERE IS ANOTHER SOLUTION! No, seriously. PM me and I will<br>answer and support you I promise.**

**I messed with the server announcements, deal with it.  
>~Featherflower<br>**

Ridge didn't have to put in any commands to get them back to the hut.  
>He just grabbed Zoeya's hand, his fingers cold as ice and rather<br>claw-like, and they were suddenly back at the girl's home.

Blood had sprayed a few spots on the wall, and Zoeya made an effort  
>not to even glance at the bed, where she knew the corpse would be.<p>

"Meh. Teep could have been a worse shot." The demigod remarked,  
>clearly studying the body. The girl squeezed her eyes shut. Dead<br>colors rippled around the blackness of her closed eyelids. A slight  
>noise came from where Ridge was standing, something of a cross between<br>tearing and slipping, like pulling something out… of a body.

The arrow. Zoeya felt sick.

"Please, sir. I don't want to know." She whispered. A soft chuckle  
>emitted from the demigod's throat, eerie enough to make the girl<br>shiver.

"I didn't really ask you." He replied, then continued muttering to  
>himself. "Respawning should heal the wounds. Duncan's was a little<br>messy, it might scar."

There was a rustling of fabric as it slipped away from part of a body.  
>"That won't go away, to no one's surprise." He muttered as he pulled<br>the fabric back up, hopefully. Zoeya assumed he was talking about  
>whatever was beneath Rythian's mask. She would normally have<br>protested, but this was Ridgedog. He really didn't care about privacy.

"Well, I'll stop making you wait." He said finally. "And please tell  
>me you can see the zombie behind you."<p>

Zoeya turned around. "Nothing there, Ridge." He shook his head and  
>returned to his work.<p>

Ridgedog /OP Rythian  
>Server Rythian joined the world<p>

The man disappeared as a sharp intake of breath sounded from where he  
>had been standing. As rapidly as they had come, the commands to undo<br>the OP appeared.

"Rythian?" Zoeya called, a little hesitantly. After all, the last  
>thing she had told him was 'don't talk to me.' What if he was still<br>mad about their fight?

"Zoeya?" His voice was raspy and weak. "Oh, Notch! Where are we?"

"Um… in the mud shack we built when Duncan blew us up… again." The  
>girl replied, opening her eyes and turning towards the brown haired<br>man. His eyes were glowing a bit. His expression was one of fear and  
>shock, and something she couldn't quite place. Anger? Disgust? Was it<br>towards her?

"Survive… death… jumping… ambush… oh Notch!"

"What?" The apprentice demanded. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't remember..." He mumbled, sitting up. Zoeya ran over to him  
>and gave her teacher a hug. He wrapped his arms around her, closing<br>any distance Zoeya had left.

They sat in silence for a while. Rythian was shivering from cold, and  
>his teeth chattered uncontrollably. Zoeya could understand that. He'd<br>just come back from the dead. His body couldn't have been warm after…  
>how long has it been? Also, his lean physique couldn't be helping him<br>retain or regain body heat. His apprentice pressed against him, trying to share her warmth between them.

Finally, the girl's curiosity prompted her to ask Rythian a few  
>things. "Don't remember what?" She paused, and asked a more important<br>question. "Why? Why would you do that? Why would you do that to  
>yourself? Me? Us?" Tears sprung to her eyes, though some could be<br>blamed on the relief of having him back.

"I didn't want it dragged out. For me, or anyone else." He muttered,  
>lips nearly brushing her ear. "What did you give Ridge to convince him<br>to bring me back? And how did you find out what Tee did? I told him  
>never to tell anyone!" His breath was the only thing about him that<br>was still warm, though some of the chill had left him.

He seemed a little wary of her judgment. He'd made a strange, maybe  
>even a bad choice. Now, he was scared of her reaction. The girl had to<br>choose her words carefully for fear of saying the wrong thing and  
>making him feel worse.<p>

"Well…" Began the redhead. "That was the price. I had to force  
>Greenman to tell me why he shot you." She didn't ask him why Teep<br>couldn't tell her. The one he trusted. Didn't he trust her?

Of course he does. You ran out on him before he had the chance to tell  
>you anything. Her own mind betrayed her and whispered. Guilt filled<br>her stomach as she looked into the man's violet eyes. I almost lost  
>you forever. She realized. And the last thing we would have done was<br>fight. Another thought, lighter and sillier, came to her head.

Now we're even. This and the nuke.

"And so I'm back… but I remember things I don't remember doing." He  
>revealed voice shattered and sad. He clearly could see the troubles<br>in her eyes, but decided not to bring them up.

Zoeya stared at him, not understanding what he was saying.

"What?" The apprentice demanded. "Is this the stuff about surviving  
>and death and ambushes?" Rythian nodded.<p>

"What do you remember?"

"Blood." The man replied, and didn't add anymore until Zoeya prompted  
>him again. "Your blood. On my hands."<p>

**Kim's POV**  
>"Duncan. I think we're going to pay for that." The girl whispered,<br>fear settling in after about an hour of excitement. "Ridge won't let  
>us get away with that." Her eyes widened with worry. Beside her,<br>Duncan showed the same fear.

"It's, it's okay. We'll be fine. Ridge won't hurt us." The scientist  
>muttered. Softly, as an understatement, he added, "I won't let him."<p>

"Can you really fight off a demigod?" Kim's voice wavered.

"Quia Vobis." He said. For you. Kim had studied enough of the  
>powerful, ancient language to know that. Martyn was the best at that<br>tongue, and Rythian, but she and Duncan had done their best to learn  
>it.<br>**  
><strong>**Ridge's POV**  
>He didn't know what was happening to him. He was seeing things that no<br>one else could see. And the monsters didn't hurt him, which went  
>beyond the common sense of the monsters in the world.<p>

He bounced around to see how everybody was or if he needed to OP  
>anybody else who had suffocated in a wall or had been struck by lightning.<p>

But everywhere he went he saw monsters. And they were becoming more  
>and more frequent and bigger. The people he talked to said that he was<br>going crazy.

_But what if I am?_ He wondered. When he told the citizens of his  
>father's land when he passed by them, they looked at him crazily and<br>worriedly. They thought he was going insane.

"Wait a minute…" He suddenly realized what was going on. "Of course  
>I'm going insane because someone put the curse of insanity on me! And<br>there are only four people who would do that. Maybe five, but Rythian  
>was dead and I don't actually know if he could duplicate the curse of<br>insanity's affects anyways...

"Nilesy… no, he is too obsessed with his cats and pools to try to do  
>something stupid like this.<p>

"Lomadia… she could potentially do this to me; she was the first witch  
>on this planet that hasn't been created with everything else. But why<br>would she? She wasn't even involved, I've barely spoken to her!

"Then that leaves Nano and her master. KIIIIIMMMMM!" He shouted  
>and teleported to the soon-to-be-gone Panda Labs.<br>**  
><strong>**Kim's POV**  
>"He's coming here!" The masculine shout rang through the morning air.<br>But it came too late. A man appeared out of nowhere with cold fury set  
>in his eyes.<p>

"KIM!" He bellowed. The petite woman shrank back into the shadows of  
>the home that she and Lalna had built together. "Undo the curse that<br>you set on me!" He drew his sword and approached her.

"Alright, just-just put your sword away!" She stammered. He considered  
>this for half a second and then did what the witch asked. But first he<br>paused to stab a few wisps of air.

She ran off towards her hut, leaving Ridge to follow her. He seemed  
>suspicious. She through open the door and started searching trough her<br>chests.

"Where are you going?" He demanded.

"I need the supplies for the de-cursing." The young witch explained to  
>the demigod, slowly growing more confident; Lalna was with her now,<br>rummaging through the chests in the 'witch's hut' that he had made  
>more his apprentice.<p>

As she dug through the chests, panic settled in. A spare taglock for  
>Ridge was present, which she grabbed, but nothing else. "I-I can't<br>find anything. It's all gone. I don't know who took the witch stuff  
>but it's definitely not here." She gestured to the man to look for<br>himself.

"Then take this." He said, brushing his hand on the mossy floor. The  
>supplies needed for the rite of removal suddenly appeared where is<br>hand had lay.

The fluxy girl took the ingredients gratefully as the demigod brought  
>out his sword again and killed whatever his eyes deceived him with.<br>She rolled her eyes. If the dark ginger haired man noticed he didn't  
>react to the movement.<p>

As she jogged with her arms full of ingredients, she thought about  
>what would happen if Ridgedog decided to use his full extent of his<br>powers. No one knew, and if he did that because she had cursed him  
>with a not-unusual curse of insanity, what would he do for bigger events that would happen in the future.<p>

**RIDGE'S POV**

"Put them down. Now." He hissed at her. Duncan stood beside her; his  
>hand was on her trembling shoulder.<p>

"You can do this." He mumbled to her. The demigod could hear him, of  
>course. She took a shaking nod, and threw the de-cursing components<br>down near the yellow center marking. Lividcoffee handed her a round  
>stone that he had picked up off of the ground and she threw it to have<br>it bounce on the yellow chalk. A low growl sounded.

"It-it didn't work. I don't understand. Why didn't it work?" Kim said  
>mostly to herself, confused.<p>

Ridge was also extremely confused. She should be able to do this…  
>unless somebody tampered with this, I don't understand.<p>

"Why didn't the spell work, Nano? Did you get Lomadia to intervene  
>with the spell?" Ridge's voice grew louder with each word.<p>

"No-no I didn't. All you saw is what happened. Of something like that  
>happened I don't know about it!" The sorceress protested in panic that<br>was just not going away today. "You might have to get Lomadia to help  
>you with this one because obviously you are too powerful for me to<br>fix-"

For the seventh-hundredth time in those 24 hours the male drew his  
>glistening-with-real-fresh-monster-blood-sword and shoved the tip of<br>the weapon where her chin met her throat. He pressed it hard enough to  
>have a small ribbon of red dibble down her delicate skin as a victory.<p>

"You will fix this or you will die. And you are not allowed to contact Lomadia or Nilesy or anybody else who knows witchery." He growled at  
>her. "You have a day."<p>

"I'm afraid that won't do." A component in the puzzle piped up for  
>once. Ridge glanced over the smaller human's shoulder.<p>

"Lalna? What do you think you can do to me that will be able to affect  
>me?" He sneered, never breaking eye contact with his 'slave at the<br>moment.'

**DUNCAN'S POV**  
>"This." The demigod dared glance up from Kim to the clearly enraged<br>man. Kim struggled to see over his shoulder.

The scientist's eyes were laced with glowing red, though pine-green  
>was still dominant. A heavy iron hammer was gripped in his grey-gloved<br>hand.

"Do not threaten Kim." His gaze burned with rage. "Now leave, Ridge.  
>No one summoned you here, and no one wants you here. You don't have to<br>be here when we remove the curse. Collecting the ingredients from  
>scratch will take time. More than a day. If you can't wait, go get<br>Lomadia or Nilesy to do it."

The demigod's eyes narrowed. "You have 24 hours. Like I already said.  
>And I'll stay here."<p>

"You can't threaten me in my own home, Ridgedog. Get out. Go away! You  
>do not want to mess with us tonight." Oh Notch. We were so wrong. This<br>shouldn't have happened. His throat felt thick, and even with the  
>ruthless thing helping, he was terrified.<p>

"Duncan, I actually need more of his taglock to cure him." The small  
>girl muttered. The blind had almost forgotten she was there, and<br>thankfully, Ridge had too. The demigod's sword was now held level with  
>the scientist's chest, rather than pressed into the girl's throat.<p>

"Well Ridge, you heard her, I'm sure. Kim, take more than you think  
>you'll need, because he's leaving." The blond put all his force behind<br>his words.

"Very well, Livid, as you wish."

"What! No! Shit!" The purple robbed man vanished, leaving Kim holding  
>an empty kit and Duncan swearing at the sky.<p>

"Duncan... we're so screwed. We're so- OH NOTCH! Get- um... are you  
>okay?" She shied away, staring in horror at his eyes.<p>

"Crap. Give me a moment." He squeezed them shut.

Enough. The thing protested, battering at his cautious control. He  
>fought back, struggling to push the thing away. Stop! Leave me alone!<br>We'll attack Ridge soon enough, but leave me alone for now! The thing  
>backed off resentfully.<p>

"Okay, Kim." He whispered, opened his eyes and addressing the black-haired girl.

She was still staring at him in horror. Puzzled, he wondered what  
>exactly was wrong. Were his eyes still red? Unlikely. Then what was<br>she afraid of?

"Tell me you weren't just cooperating. Please. Tell me that much." The  
>man's cheeks flushed. Why had he thought that was a good idea?<p>

" Um... uh... I..."

"Oh, Notch! Duncan. Do you want us all dead?" He voice was shrill, and  
>she was shaking from fear and rage.<p>

"I had it under control!" He promised.

"Until you killed someone! Again!" He winced, her words cutting into  
>his stomach like shards of glass.<p>

"Kim... Lalnable didn't almost kill Rythian. You know that. I did."

**So how was it? Next chapter will out soon and please do not forget to review!**


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